At home.
It had been three full days since Ryun's death.
During this time, there had been no signs of his body reviving. As time passed, obvious corpse spots began to appear on him.
Only because of his immense strength while alive, the chakra and physical energy within his body had not dissipated quickly, which slowed down the post-mortem decomposition process significantly compared to an ordinary person.
For a normal person, after three days without proper preservation, the body would likely have already bloated and begun to rot. Yet, Ryun's body only showed corpse spots so far.
Asuka wiped his body several times every day, then knelt quietly beside him, waiting desperately for his revival.
However, as time passed, the flicker of hope in her heart gradually dimmed.
Watching the corpse spots on her son's body become more pronounced, Asuka's eyes grew hollow. Her spirit seemed to turn numb, and her vitality drained away at an alarming rate.
In the Hokage Building.
"Report! News from the border indicates that Kumogakure is assembling a ninja force, showing clear signs of preparing to attack our border defenses!"
A Konoha-nin delivered the intelligence from the border to Hiruzen.
"Damn it! What are those Kumo-nin trying to do? Do they really want war?" The two Hokage Advisors were both shocked and furious.
"Hiruzen, has the envoy sent to Kumogakure sent any messages back today?" Homura urgently asked.
Hiruzen shook his head and shared his thoughts, "They've most likely been detained..."
After learning that the Kumo envoy team had been wiped out within the Land of Fire, Hiruzen immediately dispatched an envoy to Kumogakure.
The envoy carried a personal letter from the Hokage, explaining to the Third Raikage that Konoha had absolutely no involvement in the deaths of the Kumo envoy team.
However, the enraged Third Raikage refused to accept this explanation. After skimming the letter, he tore it to shreds right in front of the envoy.
The envoy Hiruzen sent had only managed to relay one message before losing contact: Kumo possessed critical intelligence proving that the annihilation of their envoy team was linked to Konoha.
The specifics of this intelligence were not disclosed... because after sending this message, Konoha completely lost contact with him. Kumogakure had clearly taken control of him—or perhaps even executed him.
"Those damn warmongering lunatics! They're convinced we slaughtered their envoy team?"
"Is the Third Raikage so brainless he can't think? Ryun is already dead. We've already made a sacrifice—why would we still need to kill the Kumo envoy team?"
Koharu's face twisted in anger as she cursed, but then she turned to Hiruzen and asked what their next move should be.
"What else can we do? For now, we must deploy troops to the border to guard against a surprise attack from Kumogakure."
Hiruzen spoke with a grim expression, then immediately issued orders to mobilize troops.
The annihilation of the Kumo envoy team was likely orchestrated by Iwagakure—this was the consensus among Konoha's higher-ups. After committing the act, it would be all too easy for them to fabricate so-called "evidence."
This was also why Hiruzen, upon learning that the Kumo envoy team had been killed within the Land of Fire, believed war was highly probable.
The location and timing of the Kumo envoy team's deaths were far too coincidental. The Third Raikage's furious tearing of the letter and detainment of the envoy were within Hiruzen's expectations.
Thus, when he learned that Kumogakure was mobilizing troops, he didn't react with outrage. Instead, he felt only helplessness and regret.
He regretted making such a great sacrifice, only to still face the threat of war...
If he had known things would turn out this way, he would never have sacrificed Ryun. At least then, the people's morale would still be intact!
"Report! Lady Mito has attacked the Anbu operatives guarding her residence and demands that you go see her immediately!"
A Konoha Anbu operative appeared in a flash, delivering this news to Hiruzen.
"What?!"
Hiruzen's face paled drastically, and panic surged in his heart.
It seemed the truth could no longer be hidden. He didn't know how he would face Mito Uzumaki—there was a chance his tenure as the Third Hokage might end here.
"What must be faced will eventually be faced. Lady Mito will understand. No one in Konoha wanted a hero to die..."
Koharu lowered her head and spoke softly.
"Hiruzen, I'll go with you..."
Homura stood up, intending to accompany Hiruzen to face Mito.
"No need... Koharu is right. What must be faced will eventually be faced. Running away won't solve anything..."
Hiruzen declined Homura's offer and immediately set off for the Senju Clan's estate.
When he arrived at the Senju estate in a rush, he instantly noticed that the Anbu operatives stationed nearby had all been knocked to the ground, each bearing injuries of varying severity. Soon, he saw the frail old woman glaring at him furiously, holding Kushina's hand.
"Lady Mito..."
Hiruzen bowed his head as he approached Mito, looking like a child who had done something wrong.
"Tell me. Why did you seal off the estate and restrict our freedom, cutting us off from information?"
"What are you hiding from us? Did something happen to Ryun?"
Mito's eyes burned with anger as she fired off questions.
"Yes... Ryun is... dead."
Hiruzen delivered the tragic news directly. After speaking, he disregarded his status as Hokage and dropped to his knees before Mito.
"Dead...?"
Upon hearing Hiruzen's words, Kushina's pupils shrank to pinpricks, her mind seemingly losing the ability to think.
Mito also momentarily froze, but soon, her fury erupted.
"Speak! Explain everything! If you dare hide even a single detail, I'll kill you right now!"
This was the first time Mito had ever felt killing intent toward someone from Konoha—and that person was the Hokage himself.
At Mito's demand, Hiruzen quickly recounted the entire incident in detail.
"Ryun died because he saved me... He killed those Kumo-nin for my sake... It's my fault he's dead... It's all my fault..."
Kushina wept in self-blame before collapsing into unconsciousness from the overwhelming guilt.
"Ah... You useless fool!"
After listening to Hiruzen's rapid explanation, Mito could no longer suppress her rage. She delivered a powerful kick to the kneeling Hokage.
The terrifying force behind the kick sent the most powerful man in Konoha flying dozens of meters away, vomiting blood and crashing through the Senju estate's outer wall!
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